DIY Thank You Cards

I JUST finished sending these DIY thank you cards for my Christmas gifts. It only took me six weeks, but late is better than never when it comes to these things. My first inclination was to go to Paper Source or similar and pick out some beautiful notecards. Not cheap, but so what? Welllll, I couldn’t bring myself to fork over $18.95 for six letterpress cards (I always pick the most expensive design, hands down). I wasn’t feeling DIY either. Until I went into Impress Cards and Crafts, an amazing local crafty store (they sell everything online!), and saw this:

Thank You Card Inspiration Paper — Pink Paislee Bella Rouge Collection

I fell head over heels for this pack. The pink! The mustard! The grey! The black and white! Swoon. And it was only $6.00. So, hey. I knew I had to use the adorable paper somehow. And given that the patterns and colors already worked together with no extra brain power from me was a major score.

Feb132015Sep 1 2019

DIY Valentines: Fruit Friends Valentines Paper Source Kit

Paper Source has outdone themselves this year! Their new Fruit Friends Valentine Kit is SO adorable and super easy. If you feel like being crafty but don’t want to buy a ton of supplies, all of their DIY Valentines kits are fun, creative, and colorful. You could also customize them to your heart’s desire with supplies you already have at home!

All you need is a glue stick, marker, and hole punch. That’s it! I had a blast making them and my coworkers will love them. I think I’ll add a cute treat with them and maybe a glassine envelope. The kit makes 30 Valentines for $19.95. There are adhesive To/From stickers included with sweet messages like “Orange you glad we’re friends” and “Have a berry Happy Valentine’s Day!” So cute.

Nearly all the supplies come ready to go. You will have to cut out the grape stems and pineapple and strawberry tops. You also need a 1/4″ hole punch for rosy cheeks and strawberry seeds.

I have one recommendation that might make the gluing of the little bits move a little quicker: use a Xyron! It’s a cool sticker machine and I’ve used it for so many things. For this project, it works great to adhere the small hearts and 1/4″ circles. It’s WAY easier than using a glue stick which is messy on tiny little pieces like that. You just stick the items in one end and pull the paper through the machine, and poof! Like magic, you have a sticker.

For more DIY Valentines and other fun paper projects, check out DIY Paper! xo

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Feb122015Sep 1 2019

DIY Valentines: You are Spectacular

If I was a decisive person, I would have picked one DIY project, had fun, sent them out, boom. Done. But that NEVER happens. DIYers, are you with me? I had a bazillion ideas for Valentines this year and narrowed them down. To three. So now, I’m busting my butt to work on and finish them. It’s like I’m doing military crafting. Set regimented blocks of time, revolving between projects, for hours at a time. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun, but jeeeeeeeeez.

With that, let’s dive into this DIY Valentines project! This one involves more steps than my Heart and Arrow Valentines. Pick and choose the pieces that work best for you.

Materials:

4-bar flat card and envelopes, Paper Source (I used superfine white cards and beautifully dark and dramatic slate envelopes)
- Note: you’ll need two flat cards to make one card
Spectacles rubber stamp, Paper Source
Tiny heart rubber stamp, Impress Cards and Crafts
Happy Valentine’s Day rubber stamp, Impress Cards and Crafts
Clear embossing powder (optional), Paper Source
Heat embossing tool (optional), Paper Source (on sale for 20%)
Colorbox black ink pad, Paper Source
Colorbox peony ink pad, Paper Source
Alphabet rubber stamps or pen or fine-tipped marker, to write “You are Spec-tacular” (or you can use your computer if you don’t feel comfortable writing or stamping the message; it definitely gives it a handmade feel with these options)
Paper tape or washi tape of your choice (I found paper tape at Paper Source, but see my review of it below. I would recommend washi tape).

Additional Supplies:

Exacto knife or similar (this one is great)
Cutting mat
Double-sided tape or similar adhesive
Read More

Feb112015Sep 1 2019

Shop Your Closet: 3 Ideas for Last Minute Valentine’s Style

There is a ton of Valentine’s date night outfit inspiration and “click to buy” outfits out there for a fun date with your significant boy or girl or Galentine. And I love it all. But I have zero dollars. I’m still paying off Christmas (yes, I’m an average American who overspends every holiday) and I have a lot of unexpected expenses (tires, battery, brakes for my car, all at once. Boo.), so I won’t be shopping for an amazing outfit. If you’re in the same boat, don’t fret.

I highly encourage you to look in your closet with an open mind and some flexibility and I know you’ll find something new and fresh. All you need is a good foundation piece. From there, you can experiment with accessories and have an amazing date night style. The coolest thing with this styling is that I didn’t have to buy anything! I messed around for about an hour and tried a bunch of different outfits and settled on a simple Gap black dress for my foundation and built three fun outfits around it.

If you have an urge to shop or need something small to spice up an outfit, Target, Forever 21, and Macy’s are all great options for on trend, affordable accessories on the fly. And when you think of accessories, don’t limit yourself to jewelry; consider hats, scarves, shoes, and colored or patterned tights.

Style #1: Patterned tights, bright belt, fun flowers

Style #1 is a bright, feminine look. The punch of pink is fun and flirty while the tights offer depth (and warmth in chilly weather!) and allow the flowers and belt to take center stage.

Outfit: Dress, Gap, similar
Shoes, Biviel, similar
Herringbone Tights, Target, similar
Belt, old, Target, similar
Pins, various (Target, Claire’s, Buffalo Exchange)

Feb92015Sep 1 2019

DIY Valentines: Hearts and Arrows

I’m a sucker for any DIY project. And DIY Valentines? Forgeddaboutit. I’m making three different styles this year! Apparently I’ve decided to do this because I want to pull all-nighters. For Valentines.

I fell in love with the arrow stamp at Paper Source and the coral/gold combo is lovely, and a far cry from the usual red/pink onslaught.

Materials:

Flat cards and envelopes, Paper Source (I’m using 4-bar flat cards in superfine white and 4-bar envelopes in coral)
Arrow rubber stamp, Paper Source
Tiny heart rubber stamp, Impress Cards and Crafts
Happy Valentine’s Day rubber stamp, Impress Cards and Crafts
Colorbox Goldrush Ink Pad, Paper Source
Colorbox Coral Ink Pad, Paper Source
Meri Meri Party gold lip stickers, Paper Source
Corner punch, here

Note: You’ll notice I have a LOT of Paper Source links. There’s no affiliate program associated here, I just sorta love what they sell. Oh, and I worked there for three years and spent 90% of my paycheck on paper and craft stuff. So, yeah.